Feb. 13, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland basketball team (13-7, 4-5 ACC) visits the Dean E. Smith Center on Sunday looking to even its ACC record and move up in the conference standings as the Terrapins take on No. 14/17 North Carolina (14-7, 4-6 ACC). The Terrapins, who downed UNC by a 90-84 margin on Jan. 14, look for their third-consecutive regular-season sweep when the teams clash in the heart of Tobacco Road at 3:30 p.m. For the second-straight season, each of the Terps' 27 regular-season games are scheduled to be televised live - Maryland meets North Carolina in a nationally-televised contest on ABC, with Dan Shulman and Len Elmore - Maryland's all-time leading rebounder (1,053) - calling the action. Elmore is a 1978 graduate (English) of the University of Maryland and is the only player in school history to amass more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
The Terrapins take on their eighth ranked opponent of the season in No. 14 North Carolina, tying Maryland with Florida State (4-4), UNC (4-4) and Clemson (1-7) for the ACC lead in games against ranked foes. The Terps are 3-4 on the year against opponents ranked in the Top 25, helping Maryland to a RPI rating of 34 and a strength of schedule rating of 14. With a victory Sunday, Maryland would move to 5-5 in the ACC and into a tie for fourth with Wake Forest. The Terps would also move to 4-3 on the road and even their conference road record at 3-3 with a win.
Maryland won its last two games, gritting out a 71-67 victory at Virginia on Feb. 1 before coming home to down Florida State, 73-62, last Sunday. Against the Seminoles, senior center Jamar Smith led five Terrapin double-figure scorers with 16 points and 14 rebounds, recording his ACC-leading ninth double-double of the year. Junior forward Nik Caner-Medley reached double-digits for the 15th time this season, netting 14 and adding a career-high tying four rejections, while rookie guard D.J. Strawberry provided a spark off the bench with 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and one block. Second-year floor general John Gilchrist (11 pts, 3 asst) and sophomore guard Chris McCray (10 pts) combined to make seven of the Terrapins' last eight free throw attempts to seal the win, while McCray's defense held FSU guard Tim Pickett to only two points in the second half.
The Tar Heels come into the game following an 88-77 road loss at Georgia Tech on Tuesday. Sophomore Rashad McCants, the ACC's leading scorer, netted 31 points and has totaled 26 or more in six of his last eight games. Big man Sean May added nine with eight rebounds and is the ACC's only player averaging a double-double (15.1 ppg, 10.1 apg). Deep threat Melvin Scott contributed 10 points vs. Tech, while ACC assist leader Raymond Felton dished six. Head coach Roy Williams is in his first season at UNC, and is 0-3 career against his Williams counterpart at Maryland.
The Terrapins trail in the all-time series by a 108-53 margin, but have won five of the last six matchups overall and five of the last eight meetings in the Smith Center, including an 81-66 victory last season and a 92-77 win in 2002.
Terp Streaks & Storylines
After last Sunday's victory over Florida State, the Terrapins are 34-11 (.756) in their last 45 ACC regular-season games since the 2000-01 season, including a 15-1 regular-season championship in 2001-02. The Terps have captured the league's regular-season championship four times, including outright titles in 2002, 1975 and 1980 and a tie for first in 1995. Head coach Gary Williams is 129-100 in ACC regular-season play in his 15 seasons at Maryland.
In 26 seasons, Williams owns a career record of 515-288 overall (.641), making him the 16th-leading active coach in America in terms of victories. He is 308-160 (.658) in 15 seasons as the head coach at Maryland as only six coaches in college basketball history have captured as many victories as the leader of a program in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Williams totals 25 NCAA Tournament victories - ranking ninth among active coaches - and is 21-9 at Maryland for a .700 winning percentage after once again leading the Terps to the Sweet Sixteen last season.
Maryland has faced seven ranked opponents during the 2003-04 season to date, posting three victories against Top 25 foes. In addition to No. 9/11 North Carolina (Jan. 14), the Terps defeated a pair of ranked opponents during non-conference play in No. 15/13 Wisconsin (Dec. 2) and No. 1/1 Florida (Dec. 10). The win over UNC was Maryland's 53rd victory vs. the Top 25 since Williams took over the program in the 1989-90 season.
Sunday's matchup with No. 14/17 North Carolina marks Maryland's ACC-leading eighth Top 25 opponent of the season. Florida State, UNC and Clemson have faced eight, followed by Georgia Tech (6), Virginia (6), Duke (5), Wake (5), and NC State (4). A win would give the Terps four Top 25 victories, tying them with FSU, UNC and Georgia Tech for second in the league in victories over ranked foes.
Maryland's roster features a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, two juniors and lone senior Jamar Smith. The Terps have lost a combined nine starters over the course of the past two seasons to either graduation or professional careers.
The 2003-04 Maryland squad appears to be the youngest Williams has coached since the 1993-94 season. That year, with a five-man freshman class that included Keith Booth, Joe Smith and current Terp assistant coach Matt Kovarik, the Terps posted an 18-12 record en route to the Terps' first Sweet Sixteen appearance of the Williams era. The 1994 NCAA Tournament appearance was the first of Maryland's current streak of 10 straight. The 1993-94 Terps posted an 8-8 ACC record.
With the victory over No. 1 Florida on Dec. 10, Williams became the winningest active coach in college basketball in terms of wins over top-ranked opponents (6). The Terps have posted victories over five No. 1-ranked foes with Williams as their head coach, and his Ohio State team captured a win over top-ranked Iowa in 1987, giving Williams a grand total of six. The win over the Gators marked the third-straight season in which Maryland has beaten a No. 1 squad.
The 2003-04 Terrapins look to continue a school record this season by earning a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Williams returned to his alma mater in 1989 and has guided the Terrapins to 10 straight NCAA Tournament berths since 1994 - a run that includes seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, Final Four showings in 2001 and 2002, and the 2002 NCAA Championship. Maryland is currently one of only six schools in the nation riding a streak of 10-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
For the second consecutive season and the second time in school history, all of Maryland's 29 preseason and regular-season games are scheduled to be aired on live television. The Terps' 2003-04 broadcast slate includes 14 games that will be broadcast nationally, on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports Net, ABC or CBS. With the exception of the snow-delayed victory over Wake Forest last February 17, every preseason and regular season game of the Terps' 2002-03 season was aired live, and the Terps' Feb. 19 tilt at Duke ranked as ESPN's top-rated college basketball telecast of all of last year.
On Deck
The Terrapins return home for another matchup against a ranked ACC foe when the No. 15/16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets come to Comcast Center on Thursday, Feb. 19. The Terps look for payback from a Jan. 17 loss in Atlanta at Coaches Vs. Cancer Night. Fans should plan to arrive early due to campus traffic surrounding the 7 p.m. tip time.
